


Chasing Eros

by ajwolf



Series: On My 'Super' Love [2]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Falling In Love, Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Villains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-13 15:20:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15367491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ajwolf/pseuds/ajwolf
Summary: It starts with an empty box. An empty box that once held a priceless gemstone. A priceless gemstone that was supposed to be missing...In the blink of an eye, Detective Nikiforov is swept up into the case of his career, tracking down the mysterious Eros. But as Viktor grows ever closer to solving the mystery of this masked man, he also finds himself more and more reluctant to bring him to justice.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> By popular demand, the prequel to VillainousEros!

Viktor stared down at the empty box. “I really fail to see what the problem is?”

“The jewel is missing!” The bank owner shouted. He was a thin man with an exceptionally bushy mustache; there was sweat running down his temple. “This gem was a 37-karat aquamarine! Completely flawless! It’s priceless!”

“Well, obviously somebody could think of a price for it if they stole it,” Viktor commented casually as he straightened up. “Aquamarines are blue right? Got any pictures?”

“Of course not.”

Viktor stared at the man. “Come again? You want us to track down a missing gemstone with no pictures?”

The owner nodded. “I’ll give you the specifications; those are better than a fingerprint to anyone wanting to buy or sell gemstones.”

Viktor raised a hand to his face in frustration. “Sir, it’s department procedure to document everything, and photos are a part of the deal.”

“Well, I’m sorry Detective Nikiforov, but this is a bank. We don’t take photos of our customers belongings when they put them in their safety deposit box.”

“Then contact them and ask them for a photo; surely they have one for insurance purposes.”

“Are you crazy!” The bank owner balked. “That would ruin our reputation! Who would store their goods at a bank whose vault was robbed?”

Viktor glared at him, hating the man more and more each second. “You tell me.”

The bank owner scowled. “Do you have what you need from me?”

Viktor shrugged. “I guess. It’s not much to go on. No security footage, no alarm, no fingerprints, no signs of a break in, just a missing stone and a list of measurements. How did you even know it was taken?”

“It was like this when we came in this morning. Box open, gem gone. No other signs that anything was amiss. We wouldn’t have even known if they’d put the box back, not until the customer came to collect it.”

“Is anything else missing?”

The owner sighed. “We don’t think so, but we can’t be sure. We are planning to do a full inventory today, but it will be difficult. Leaving a list of their stored items is only optional, so many of these boxes we have no idea what could or should be inside.”

“Sounds like you should contact your customers then,” Viktor said without sympathy.

The owner sighed and nodded. “Yes, you’re right Detective. You’ll find the stone though, won’t you?”

“I’ll do my best.”

 

Viktor sighed heavily when he got back to his desk at the Detroit PD. “Find a missing gemstone, Viktor, you don’t need anything to go on, do you? Of course not! You’re Viktor Nikiforov!” He grumbled to himself as he checked his email. He was glad they’d put him off in the corner so he could ignore the world for a while.

Cases like this always made him angry. Whatever that gem was worth, the bank’s insurance could easily cover; meanwhile poor families had their life savings wiped out by bad mortgages and predatory loans. He hated helping people who were barely better than the criminals he put in cells. Actually, he liked most of the people he arrested more than he did men like that bank manager.

He computer dinged and he looked at the screen curiously as a message popped up.

_< < Good morning Detective. I’m sorry my little game ruined your morning._

A photo followed the message immediately showing an aquamarine sitting prettily in the same box Viktor had been staring at just that morning. Viktor blinked slowly, before frantically typing.

**> > Did you steal that jewel?**

_< < I did, it’s very pretty. But don’t worry, I’ve already returned it._

**> > You did? To the bank?**

_< < Oh heavens no, I returned it to the people they stole it from!_

Viktor’s mouth fell open.

**> > What are you saying?**

_< < That gemstone was a family heirloom to a very nice family, and they wanted to keep it safe, so they put it in a safety deposit box at their bank. Only their bank was bought out by that very same bank you visited today. The family was assured nothing would change, but a few weeks later the bank burned down, and despite that room being largely intact, it seems that several very valuable items were missing. The bank’s owner has been selling the stolen items on the black market by conducting online trades and then sending the safety deposit box key and location. I simply intercepted the location of this item and took it before the buyer could collect it._

**> > How do I know you’re telling the truth?**

A link flashed on the screen and Viktor clicked it, eyes widening as he viewed pages and pages of valuable goods, many of which were sold, including a large aquamarine. A second link flashed on his screen revealing all of the information on the bank fire, and every supposed missing item. A quick glance showed him many of the items were on this seller’s list.

_< < I trust you can get someone to run a trace on the seller, or do you need me to do that for you as well?_

Viktor smirked.

**> > Thanks, but I’ve got it. You know I could run one on you as well.**

_< < But you won’t._

**> > How do you know?**

_< < Because you agree with me. You’re a good cop, but you hate the way good people can get played by the system. You hate that the law and justice aren’t enough to protect everyone._

Viktor shivered.

**> > Who are you?**

_< < I’ll tell you what, Detective. Why don’t you take a look at all the different robbery cases of the past two weeks? I have no doubt you’ll find some interesting, and dare I say, familiar details. Find them all and I’ll answer your question._

**> > I’m going to find a lot more than just a few missing jewels, aren’t I?**

_< < That depends entirely on you, Detective._

And with that, the chat cut off, deleted from Viktor’s computer before his eyes, as if it had never been there at all. Viktor stared at the opened web pages, the only proof this hadn’t all been just some crazy dream, brow furrowed as he looked over the dozens of stolen items. How did the thief know so much? Could he be trusted?

“Only one way to find out,” Viktor whispered to himself as he set to work.

 

* * *

 

Three days later, Viktor started the day by dropping a foot-tall stack of files onto Captain Mathura’s desk. “Look at this!”

She glared at him, hand resting on a cup of coffee and head on her desk. “Viktor, it’s seven a.m. and the kids had my wife and I up half the night, so why don’t we just pretend I’ve slept and you tell me what’s in these files.”

“Aw, are the twins still not sleeping through the night? I told you I’d volunteer to babysit on my off days.”

“Like you ever take a day off,” the Captain muttered as she straightened up in her desk. “So what have you got?”

“The jewel case,” Viktor said as he flipped open the first folder. “We traced the auction site back to the bank owner, but when we dug into his accounts we found he wasn’t working alone. He has a partner who was the one who actually burned down the old bank after stealing all the valuables. They were supposed to be splitting the money, only the banker apparently has a bit of a gambling problem and stiffed him at the last sale. The gemstone sale was going to pay back his partner, only it was stolen, so he didn’t get his money. That’s why he called us! I had thought it strange to ask the police helping you find your stolen goods, but he was using our presence as protection from his partner.”

The Captain shook her head in amazement. “Ok, so do we have enough evidence to arrest him?”

“Yes, and I already have him in a holding cell for questioning.”

“And the thief?”

“Nothing on him, but what’s interesting is I did some digging on some other cases and I think this case is just one of many jobs he’s pulled off. Last week the bank on sixth was robbed of 6.718 million dollars. It’s a strangely exact amount of money. When I looked a little deeper, I noticed some complaints about the bank foreclosing on current mortgages. People would pay their bills every month, but the bank would say they hadn’t gotten them and had been trying to contact the owners. They’d demand immediate repayment which the owners couldn’t pay. These are all long-term mortgages which have already more than covered the initial loan, and they’re all in areas where home prices have risen sharply in the last few years.

“I mention this because the day after this robbery, every one of these foreclosed borrowers showed up in person with checks for the total amount left to be paid on their loans, buying their homes outright. Can you guess how much the total repayment was?”

“6.718 million?”

“Exactly! And this one, someone stole a bunch of jewelry from a pawn shop that had been listed as stolen, and it turns out the shop has been laundering money for the mob. This one, the stolen dog? Turns out it was a service dog that had been stolen from its blind owner a month ago! Ma’am, I think we’ve got a vigilante!”

She squinted at the files for a moment. “So, how’s he doing it? All of these places had tight security of one kind or another.”

Viktor sighed. “I’m not sure yet, but could you funnel any unusual robberies to me? I’d love to try and figure it out.”

His Captain regarded him for a long moment before nodding. “Just be careful, Viktor. Something about all this is strange, this may be over your head. Follow the clues and don’t take any risks until we know what we’re up against.”

“Yes ma’am!”

“And Viktor?”

“Yes, Captain?”

She rubbed her temples, eyes boring into him. “Cut your caffeine dosage in half.”

Viktor laughed, as a ballpoint pen came hurling at his face, before heading back to his desk and excitedly reviewing the night’s police reports.

_< < You won’t find anything today._

The chat window appeared so suddenly Viktor nearly toppled out of his chair in surprise. He quickly righted himself though, excitement racing through him.

**> > Took the night off?**

_< < Even I need to sleep._

**> > So how’d I do?**

Viktor’s phone rang and he quickly picked it up, a little frustrated to be interrupted. “Nikiforov.”

“You passed, Detective.”

Viktor nearly jumped out of his skin, ducking down at his desk as if someone was going to know who he was talking to. “You?”

A soft, pleasant laugh tinkled in his ear. “Me. You can call me Eros.”

“Eros...” Viktor whispered.

“I’m impressed, Detective–“

“You can call me Viktor.” He slapped a hand to his forehead. Why on earth was he chatting with a criminal like they were friends?

“Viktor then. Like I said, I’m impressed; you even figured out the dog napping.”

“That was the most heinous one!”

That same melodic laugh rang through the phone and Viktor found a strange urge to hear more.

“Tell you what, Viktor. Do you know the Metropolitan Museum of Art?”

“Of course.”

“They have a special display on loan from Russia, your homeland if I’m not mistaken.”

“You’re not.”

“Excellent. Well, one of the pieces in that collection is stolen, and I plan to return it to the owners. You should go see the exhibit tonight, near closing time. It’s always rather quiet then.”

“Are you saying you are going to steal something while the museum is open...in front of a police officer?”

“Yes, Viktor. I promise you I won’t harm anyone, including you. I was planning to do this tonight, but I want to reward you. Oh, and one more hint. You should try mapping out all those ‘crimes’ I’ve committed. You won’t understand it just yet, but look enough, and you might find something to interest you.”

“And if I catch you?” Viktor breathed.

“You can’t catch me, Viktor. That’s not an affront to your skill, a simple statement of facts. But alright, if you ‘catch me’, we’ll talk, and I’ll let you arrest me, if you’d like. I can’t promise I’ll stay locked up, but I’ll let you get the credit for my capture. Now, if you’ll excuse me I really should go. I have a busy night ahead of me.”

“Wait!” Viktor said a little too loudly. “How will I know it’s you?”

For a moment Viktor thought he’d get no answer, but then he heard, in a soft voice. “I am Eros. You’ll know me when you see me.”

 

* * *

 

Viktor looked around as he wandered the Russian exhibit. He’d been there for two hours already, worried he’d have missed whatever Eros was planning. So far the only thing he’d missed was work – not that anything was happening there either.

He’d read the placards for every exhibited piece twice and hadn’t spotted anything that particularly stood out or looked stolen. He sighed, taking a seat on a bench in front of a large, jewel encrusted Egg. It was literally from the historical Royal family, so it was unlikely that it was stolen. Still, it was Viktor’s favorite piece; the shell made of baby blue porcelain, accented with gold and gemstones. It was quite lovely, and he found himself feeling a bit mesmerized as he gazed at it.

“You have excellent tastes, Viktor.”

Viktor stiffened as he felt the soft breath against his ear, not daring to move. Eros had gotten the jump on him and he knew it was best to let Eros dictate the terms of this meeting until Viktor regained the upper hand, somehow.

“You don’t have to be nervous,” Eros said, now from a little farther away, and Viktor turned, swiveling his head backwards and forward. The gallery was empty, and a few of the lights seemed to have been dimmed. He could just make out a rope, closing off this area from the far hallway, as if it had been closed early. He turned back towards the Egg and that’s when he spotted him.

His hair was black and slicked back away from his rich, brown eyes. He had on a catsuit; strips of leather and velvet over sheer mesh covered his chest, while a small half skirt covered skintight pants that hugged every inch of his shapely legs. His face was covered in a simple, black mask, which only seemed to accent the way his lips curled into an amused grin as he watched Viktor take him in.

“You’re a Super,” Viktor whispered. He’d only met a few before, but the very _feel_ of Eros screamed Super to him. Though Hero or Villain, that he wasn’t sure.

Eros seemed to flinch before he shrugged. “I suppose the suit gives it away, not many common criminals go for this much ‘look’, do they.”

“No, it’s pretty much just cargo pants and a t-shirt. Rather uninspired if you ask me.”

Eros smirked as he leaned down, studying the case the Egg was housed in and tsked. “Would you look at this? Not even a sensor on the case; just a simple pressure button on the platform itself. It won’t even sound until I remove the entire thing. Do they just want people to steal it?” Viktor hesitated, unsure if he should actually take a look. Eros looked up and huffed, waving him over. “I told you, you won’t catch me.”

Viktor shrugged, standing and walking over to the case.

“You see that little groove, that’s a pressure button, but that kind of just measures any pressure over its minimum amount. Indiana Jones’ bag-of-sand trick would work on this.”

“So, no rolling boulder?”

Eros grinned. “Exactly. Most museums use something much more sensitive, not to mention sensors on the case itself. None of that really matters to me with my Power, but this is just making it easy for me.”

Viktor tilted his head as he studied the other man. He was a bit smaller than Viktor, and his face was serious as he studied the case. “What’s your Power?”

Eros looked up at him, before he smiled and in the blink of an eye he was gone. Viktor looked around before finally spotting him near the end of the gallery, sitting on another bench. He patted the seat next to him with a playful smile. Viktor laughed softly and walked over, ‘chasing’ Eros down once more, sitting beside him. “Teleportation, huh? That’s going to be a pain.”

“Told you,” Eros said as he crossed his legs, smiling up at Viktor.

“I could just grab onto you now.”

Eros tipped his head to the side. “How much do you know about Supers?”

Viktor shrugged. “Basically only what’s on the news. I haven’t had too many cases involving them, and the ones that have have gotten turned over to the Heroes before I could really get into it.”

Eros nodded to himself. “I suppose they would. Well, then you should know that almost all Supers have two powers, not one. Teleportation is just my primary Power.”

“Oh,” Viktor said, tapping a finger to his lips. “So, what’s your second?”

Eros extended his hand out in front of him, palm up. There was a puff of shadow and a long, curled whip appeared. Eros unfurled it slowly and held it out towards Viktor who gingerly took it into his hands.

“You can make a whip?”

Eros giggled, the sound zinging through Viktor’s body like a current. “That wouldn’t be very Super, now would it?” And suddenly the whip fell _through_ Viktor hands, landing in his lap.

He yelped in surprise. “How did you do that?!”

Eros snickered and picked it up, passing the body through Viktor’s arm, back and forth. On the third pass it didn’t give, but gently circled his wrist until Eros snapped it away, leaving behind a thin binding. Viktor tugged at it, noting that it was quite strong. Eros reached over and pulled one of the strings, suddenly extending the chord and attaching it to Viktor’s other wrist, pulling them tight together in an unbreakable bond. Viktor whistled and Eros smiled, before he waved his hand and the binds disappeared.

“That’s incredible,” Viktor breathed. “And useful, I suppose. Tie up any guards who disturb you, and then just release them after you’re away.”

Eros nodded. “Exactly. It’s a perfect skill set for a thief. Lock picking and hacking can be learned but getting in is usually ninety percent of the battle.”

“So, you always wanted to do this?”

Eros shrugged. “I don’t think any kid dreams of being a thief.” He turned and looked at Viktor. “Do you think I’m a Villain?”

Viktor frowned. Legally speaking, yes, Eros was a Villain, but morally… “No, I don’t. So far, you haven’t done anything out of greed or self-interest; you’re helping people. You’re breaking laws, sure, but there’s no evil intent there.”

Eros smiled. “To be honest, I am thinking of being just a little greedy, but don’t worry, I won’t take from anyone who truly needs it. I just am running out of projects to right a wrong. I’m getting ready to move on, leave Detroit, if I’m being honest.”

“And what, do this somewhere else?”

Eros shrugged. “I don’t know, honestly. Maybe I’ll just retire.”

Viktor felt his heart thud as a traitorous thought ran through his mind and straight out his mouth. “But if you retire, I won’t see you again.”

Eros’ mouth popped open in surprise as a sweet blush grew on his cheeks. “You’re a cop, Viktor, you can’t say things like that to me!”

Viktor leaned forward, grabbing Eros’ hand gently, hoping Eros wouldn’t take the action the wrong way. “Technically speaking, I have zero proof that you’ve committed a single crime, so right now I’m just a cop talking to a citizen.”

“A citizen who’s about to steal an extremely valuable Egg,” Eros whispered as he stared at their connected hands. He appeared almost shy in the moment.

“Why the Egg though? It belonged to the Royal family, and now the government.”

Eros grinned, slowly removing his hand from Viktor’s grasp as he stood and stretched, slowly making his way back towards the case. “The Royal family commissioned the piece from a craftsman, promising him a price that would keep his family fed for several seasons. The man accepted the commission eagerly and set to work, creating the masterpiece. On the day he went to deliver the Egg, he was robbed and left for dead. The Royal family upon hearing about this tracked down the thief and did in fact recover the Egg. However, they never paid the man’s family for it, nor did they tell them they’d found the Egg. Without the money promised, and without their main breadwinner to help provide, the family grew poor, and did not survive the winter.”

“That’s awful,” Viktor whispered, standing and moving back towards the case, unsure if he was following Eros out of duty or desire. “But then, who would your return the Egg to?”

Eros smiled up at him and took his hand. He leaned in close and Viktor, not able to believe what was going on, leaned towards him as well, their lips a breath away.

Suddenly, Eros was gone and Viktor’s hand yanked tight against the railing of the exhibit barrier. He whirled around, searching as best he could from his tied position for Eros, spotting him finally, behind the glass of yet another case standing beside an antique doll.

“I’m sorry Viktor; I lied. The story about the Egg is true, but you’re right, there’s no one to right the wrong for. I’m really here for this doll. It belonged to a very nice little girl back during World War II, but she lost it when her family had to flee the fighting. She’s a grandmother now, and when her children brought her to see this exhibit she couldn’t believe they had her doll. She begged to have it back, as it was a gift from her father who died in the war, but they refused.” He picked up the doll and smiled. “It’s not worth very much, to be honest, but it’s worth everything to her.”

Viktor struggled against his bind, giving up and going for his gun only to find that tied tight to his holster as well. “Eros! Wait!”

“I’m sorry, Viktor. Don’t worry, there’s no film of our talk, and I’ll leave you bound long enough for someone to find you. I’m going to be selfish for a while – need to fund my retirement after all – so see if you can catch me, hmm?”

“And if I do?” Viktor questioned, stalling for time, hoping he could figure out a way out of this.

Eros smiled once more. “Then I’m yours,” he whispered, and with that he disappeared.

 


	2. Chapter 2

In the hours that followed the museum ‘incident,’ there were many questions for Viktor to answer, including but not limited to why he’d been there, and what he’d seen. Much to his surprise a cryptic memo was found on his desk just before he called in the crime, and his Captain assumed he’d just rushed out to try and catch Eros after receiving it. Viktor didn’t bother correcting the story, letting her berate him for not calling in backup rather than admit he’d been explicitly invited for a polite chat.

Over the next several weeks there was a robbery every day — sometimes in the middle of the night and sometimes in broad daylight. All with the same meticulously clean crime scenes, but with one major difference. In the previous cases Eros had always disabled the cameras first, leaving them with literally nothing, but now he was leaving them rolling, letting them watch him from beginning to end.

The news had picked up the spree and was having a field day with it. People were enthralled by the tantalizing thief in his sparkly suit who’d flit about the vaults of banks, winking at the camera before he’d go. Fan blogs were popping up all over the internet as people posted not just the news footage, but their own personal footage of the masked robber in some of the more public cases.

There was one in particular that was caught on camera by one of the witnesses. It had taken place in a jewelry store. Eros had tied up the entire staff in a matter of seconds, grabbed a few pieces he liked, before turning towards a man who was still standing their stunned, holding up the engagement ring he’d been considering for his girlfriend.

Eros had reached out, gently taking it from his fingers as he studied it. “Oh honey, you don’t want this. Diamonds are so old fashioned and this one is particularly cheap.” He tossed the ring over his shoulder making one of the tied-up clerks squeak in protest of the way his merchandize was being handled. Eros had rolled his eyes and gone to another case and pulled out a perfectly cut purple tanzanite. “This is better. It’s good quality and unique. It should suit your girlfriend since purple’s her favorite color.”

The man’s mouth had fallen open at that. “How did you know that?”

Eros had just winked. “I’m Eros; it’s my job to know.”

From then on, the cat was out of the bag on Eros’ ‘identity’, and the citizens were flocking to any news about him. Viktor, for his part, found himself buried in evidence, almost literally, as a pile of witness statements had nearly fallen on top of him when he’d been diving after a pen and banged his head on the desk. He was also developing a lot of bad habits including not sleeping or properly eating as he just tried to keep up with it all.

After the case went public with several daytime jobs in extremely crowded places, Viktor and his Captain had set up a meeting with the Hero Command in hope (at least on Mathura’s part) that they’d step in and handle the mess. They’d met with a man with a long mane of thick flowing hair named Celestino, who, interestingly enough, didn’t wear a mask. In fact, he appeared completely normal, stepping off the Metro, briefcase in hand as he settled in at the coffee shop they were meeting in.

Viktor had laid out the case details in painstaking detail, even if he hated every second of it. Eros was _interesting_ and he didn’t want to give up this case for anything, even if he was out of his league.

Celestino didn’t even seem to be listening; instead he was staring at the photos and stills they’d gotten from the crime scenes. When Viktor had finished laying out the details Celestino had just looked at him with a curious expression, as if he was looking into Viktor’s soul. “There’s nothing we can do now. He’s not destroying any major property and he’s yet to harm anyone. He’s a pest, I can understand that, but unfortunately the laws prevent us from stepping in on someone this benign. There’s too much risk of us causing more damage catching him than he’s caused, and that won’t look good for us. I’m sure you understand.”

Captain Mathura was furious, raving about rules, regulations, and C.Y.A. policies, but Viktor had gotten the impression that Celestino didn’t _want_ to catch Eros. Viktor wondered if maybe the Hero felt much like he did; that Eros wasn’t a Villain, he was just _trying_ to be one.

He’d also got the feeling Celestino _knew_ Eros. Something about the way his eyes had focused on Eros’ face, as if trying to understand the person behind the mask. It made Viktor respect the man just a bit more. Eros was a puzzle; a curious and enthralling puzzle that Viktor wanted to unravel.

Even now that his crimes had moved in less altruistic direction, they were far from evil. Stacks of bills missing from banks, gold bands missing from jewelry stores, the occasional luxury good that would sell for a decent amount on the street; but nothing personal or damaging to the businesses. Most of them were just mildly put out at the paperwork they’d be forced to do to file an insurance claim.

But for Viktor, the most puzzling piece of the puzzle was Eros himself. Since he’d gone public, he hadn’t hacked Viktor’s computer or called again. It would have been all too easy for him to set Viktor up and get him yanked from the case, but he was laying remarkably low for the meantime, as if he was testing the waters with Viktor. Almost like they’d just had their first date and were both trying to figure out the right amount of time to wait before calling so as not to seem too desperate.

His only contact since the doll theft had been in the form of an unexpected Instagram request from a private account full of pictures of the masked Villain with his various prizes. His only other followers were all small accounts of seemingly random people that Viktor couldn’t quite place but were somehow familiar.

Viktor was hesitated to accept the request for all of five seconds before he was greedily scrolling through the photos feeling just a bit like a smitten boyfriend. And it didn’t seem one-sided because Eros had immediately proceeded to like every single one of Viktor’s posts that included a dog, even commenting on a few with heart-eye emojis. Viktor hadn't been able to help the giggle that slipped past his lips the moment he saw them.

But none of this was getting Viktor any closer to finding Eros, which is why he was still at the office at 2 a.m. a few weeks later, going through hours and hours of security footage with little success. He sighed, standing and stretching his arms towards the ceiling in an elongated stretch, before heading to the kitchen for a cup of increasingly stale coffee. He considered making a new pot but vetoed the idea for fear of feeling inspired to then drink more than he needed. He really did want to go to sleep at some point that night.

He shuffled back to his desk and nearly dropped his coffee in shock. There, amidst his papers, sat a bento box and a thermos that hadn’t been there when he left. He approached it quickly and popped the top off the bento. There was a note stuck to the inside of the lid.

               _You really should take better care of yourself._

Viktor laughed and looked down at the meal. It smelled divine, with several types of vegetables, a sort of fried chicken, rice, and even some little rolled eggs. He dug in, not caring that it was possibly a bad idea, moaning as the flavors burst over his tongue. He opened the thermos and smelled the concoction within, smiling as the scent of jasmine tea filtered out. He happily raced back to the kitchen and dumped the coffee out of his poodle mug and rinsed it out, before dashing back to his desk and filling it with fresh, warm tea. He was officially in heaven; the only thing that could make it better is if Eros was there, his light banter filling the silence.

And wasn’t that a troublesome thought.

He wanted to talk to Eros. Get to know him, the _real_ Eros. Sure, the sexy thief in the skin tight, mesh and leather bondage inspired catsuit was sexy as hell (and Viktor had had more than one dream about it...and the bondage whip), but it was the way Eros had blushed when Viktor had spoken honestly that had his mind tangled up in a thousand tiny little knots. The way he would pause every so often in the footage and just smile at something before him. Viktor had always gone back and tried to see what had brought out that reaction in Eros, only to come up short.

There was something so open about him, and yet so hidden, as if he showed off one facet of himself so brilliantly that it hid everything else that made him Eros. What kind of Villain would drop off a middle-of-the-night meal to the cop investigating him while more than likely on his way to go rob another bank or some celebrity?

Viktor wouldn’t say he had the most black-and-white interpretation of the law, but since Eros had stepped into his life, he was filled ever growing with shades of grey. He found himself hoping Eros really would outsmart him and remain uncatchable. He found himself jealously guarding little tidbits of Eros’ personality that he spotted, hoarding them to himself like a dragon on top of a pile of gold. He never wanted Eros to be caught, but if anyone did, he wanted it to be him. He didn’t want someone else to see the side of Eros he’d seen. He didn’t want someone chasing Eros who didn’t care about Eros’ motivations...or Eros himself.

He slammed his fist onto the desktop, cursing under his breath. He didn’t understand why, after years of this job, of this life, why was Eros suddenly filling his thoughts and making him consider things he’d never done before? What was he even thinking? What would he do if he caught Eros?

He didn’t even know, Eros’ words still swirling in his mind.

_Then I’m yours._

“What does that even mean?” Viktor whispered as he leaned back, staring up at the map where all of Eros’ crime locations were pinned. There was no rhyme or reason, to any of it. Not the crimes, not the locations, not Viktor’s emotions and desires.

In perhaps a fit of stupidity he messaged Eros on Instagram.

**> > Can we talk?**

The reply was rapid, a photo of the nearby park where the path bent, and a bench lay hidden in a copse of trees. He gathered up the thermos and the bento, savoring the last of the delicate drink before heading out the door.

He knew this was a stupid idea, but he didn’t care, especially not when he spotted the masked man waiting for him.

“What a surprise, Viktor. You’re not giving up, are you?”

Viktor shook his head. “I just...thank you, for the food.” He held out the containers, savoring the moment when Eros’ fingers grazed his own.

“You’re welcome. Like I said, you should take better care of yourself. You’re trying to solve a puzzle and for that you’ll need to keep your mind sharp.”

“I know, it’s just...” Viktor groaned, sinking his head into his hands. “Why are you doing this? We talked to the Heroes and it’s not so much that they can’t help us, it’s that they won’t. You play this persona of being this sexy sort of devil, but then you’re unreasonably kind. It doesn’t add up and forgetting that I’m a cop for just one minute, I want to know why! I can’t stop thinking about...about how much I want to know you. The real you.”

He’d gone and done it; telling a wanted criminal that he thought about him. Not just his case, but about _him_.

“I used to be a Hero,” Eros whispered, and Viktor’s head snapped up.

“You did?”

Eros nodded. “Officially, I’m missing, but they all know I’m around. We keep tabs on one another. Which Hero did you talk to?”

“Celestino, if he even is a Hero?”

Eros laughed. “Oh he’s a Hero alright. His Power is just subtle, and not one he needs to be in his Super form to use. It’s sort of like a passive buff in a game and incredibly useful. It allows him to find anyone he has a bond with. Once he gets to know you, no matter where you go, or what you get into, he can find you, or sense when you’re in need of help. It’s great for the Head of the Heroes to be able to keep tabs on everyone like that.”

“He’s the Head Hero?!” Viktor asked in shock. The man had seemed so _normal_.

Eros nodded with a soft smile on his lips, like he was remembering better times. “He knows the me that’s a Hero, but he’d never known me as a Villainous type. It’s how I avoid him tracking me down. I’m not a Villain because I have some sort of nefarious plan, I’m a Villain now because I don’t want to be found.”

Viktor tilted his head. “So, you’re running away from home?”

Eros laughed, head tipping back, his mouth wide open as he let his amusement out into the cool night air. “In a manner of speaking, yes.”

“Why?”

Eros grew quite, pensive, taking a long minute before he spoke. “It was too much,” he whispered. “Being a Hero comes with expectations and responsibilities. They were too much for me, but the others were all convinced I could do it if I tried. It was a constant war within myself, between feeling I’d let them down, and feeling like it was all a lie. It felt like I couldn’t be Eros if I stayed.”

“So you left?”

Eros nodded. “I’m not trying to hurt anyone, but I just...I’m just trying to be free. Free from the weight and all the anxiety that comes with it. It’s easier this way, I can do good things and can work alone. I don’t have to worry about letting anyone down because no one expects anything from me now, except maybe you. There’s a freedom in this; I’m not bound by the rules so I can fight for the justices that neither Heroes nor the police can obtain. I know it’s not right, what I’m doing, but it’s right for me.”

He took a long breath and Viktor watched the emotions play over his face before finally settling into a playful smirk.

“Not to mention it’s really fun sometimes. You would not believe how boring being a Hero can be.” He winked, giggling happily, eyes twinkling as they stared at Viktor. “You make it fun. I love watching you, wondering how long before you figure me out. I’ve seen you at the crime scenes, trying to figure out what I was doing, what caught my eye.

“It’s like you’re trying to figure _me_ out, not just my crimes, or Eros. Of all the people I’ve known, I think you try the most. I know I said you’d never catch me, but I don’t know. Maybe you will? I’d like to think if anyone can, it’d be you...I’d like it if it was you.”

Viktor swore his heart just swooned. “I will,” he vowed, and it felt like much more than just a challenge between a cop and a slippery criminal. It felt like a promise, or maybe a proposal.

Eros looked at him for a long moment before he suddenly sprang to his feet, sprinting away; not teleporting, but running, skipping and jumping this way and that. “Catch me Viktor!” He called, like it was all some sort of schoolyard game. Viktor knew he shouldn’t play, should step back before he fell in too deep, but he didn’t _want_ to deny him, and his own smile spread across his cheeks, making his mouth take on a heart shape as he sprinted after Eros. Laughter tore from his chest as they dodged, this way and that in some sort of gleeful little dance. Just as Viktor would grow near to Eros, the Villain would giggle and teleport away, over and over until Viktor was all but breathless as he called out, “I give!”

Suddenly Eros was there in his arms, arriving there as if dropped from heaven itself. Their chests were both heaving as they stared into each other’s eyes. There wasn’t much light, but Viktor could just make out the flecks of gold glittering deep in Eros’ shimmering depths. It felt like a metaphor for something more.

“You caught me,” Eros whispered, his breath seeming to catch, his eyes caught in a flicking pattern between Viktor’s eyes and his lips, as if he couldn’t decide which he liked best. “I like your smile.”

Viktor felt it only grow wider. “It does seem like I’ve caught you, so I suppose that means you’re mine now?”

Eros nodded, the air between them sizzling with an unseen energy that seemed to be fusing together around them, forming what, Viktor didn’t know. “I’m yours,” Eros finally whispered, his eyes fluttering shut.

This was a cliff, his last chance to turn back, but suddenly ethics and right and wrong flew out the metaphorical window because Eros was _right_ there, and Viktor _wanted_.

He leaned in and their lips pressed together in a taste of a kiss, so fleeting, but utterly devastating in its affect.  Viktor’s whole being was flying, the softness of Eros’ lips only matched by that of his hair, because Viktor was close enough to touch it, close enough to smell that Eros carried with him the scent of roses. He pressed in further, taking, and being taken in return as Eros grabbed hold of him, pressing their lips together hard until they both ran out of air.

“Eros,” Viktor whispered. He didn’t know how he knew it, but he knew this moment was over, that his carriage was turning back into a pumpkin, and that he’d have to cling onto this feeling of Eros’ lips to tide him over in the weeks to come. It was a dream too good to last.

Eros smiled, nodding at him, pressing their lips together once more. “Catch me, Viktor. Don’t ever look away.”

And then he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you liked this chapter! :)
> 
> Eros sure is mysterious, isn't he? Viktor may be in over his head...


	3. Chapter 3

If Viktor thought his late night ‘date’ with Eros would have ended the crime spree, or even shed some clarity on the nature of who Eros was, he was in for more disappointment. Starting just hours after their encounter Eros was back at it, but this time the nature of his crimes had changed again. If anything they had grown more bold, but they were also playful and mischievous, more pranks than anything.

He’d appeared in a department store and flitted around, placing ridiculous hats on the mannequins; dancing and spinning across the floor, before he teleported away with only a single hat as his bounty. One particularly terrible morning, Viktor had gotten a call that Eros had visited the Mayor overnight and set up a bubble machine. The Mayor had apparently not been paying attention to his surroundings and had walked straight into a wall of foam when he’d arrived for the day. He still had some on his ears when Viktor saw him an hour later.

Viktor’s personal favorite was when Eros literally popped out of an extremely bigoted congressman’s birthday cake in a shower of rainbow confetti.

He wanted to say his interest in watching footage of Eros was purely professional, but he was increasingly needing to excuse himself to the restroom where he tucked himself in a stall and squealed into his hands, face red because _oh my god, Eros is so cute!_

It was as if each crime Eros committed was flashier than the last, and yet all of them had some sort of message. He knew full well Eros didn’t need to leave behind witnesses or footage, and yet he did; and increasingly he was playing it up. It was like he was celebrating — like he was giddy and in love (or at least crush) and couldn’t help himself. At least, that’s what Viktor hoped; and he couldn’t blame him as Viktor himself wanted to skip pretty much every day since the night at the park; since the kiss.

Were they dating? It kind of felt like they were dating. Viktor didn’t know for sure, nor did he have an answer for the myriad of ethical conflicts that he was facing, but he knew with utmost certainty that he wanted to surround himself in Eros, to have him and hold him close in any way he could. And if for the moment that meant he was investigating and trying to arrest him, then so be it.

To his mind, catching Eros was a two-part puzzle. First, he needed to know where Eros would be, exactly. Eros was way too fast to simply wait for the calls to come in and hope they got there in time. He needed to be there, preferably within arm’s reach, to even stand a chance of catching Eros.

Which led to the second question which was the nature of Eros’ Powers themselves. Were there limits to them? Were there ways to negate them? He’d consulted the internet (as one does) but had come up empty. He’d even contacted Celestino again, who had, in as polite of tone as he could seemingly manage, told him that if there _was_ a way to negate a Super’s Powers, there was no way in hell they’d share that information.

Which was fair enough, really. This meant that Viktor had to make do with what he had, which meant a marathon of Eros footage. It hadn’t been much of a sacrifice

It felt like every crime now was somehow a message to Viktor, like Eros knew he was watching and was communicating and even flirting with him through every action he made. Before it’d been cheeky little winks at the cameras, but now it was blown kisses, and shaping his hands into a heart shape as he teleported out. He also seemed well aware of his best _assets_ and kept positioning himself _just_ so, giving Viktor the best view in the house.

But he wasn’t just spending his time drooling over Eros (though he did do quite a bit of that), he was also studying the tapes, trying to find something he could use. He’d noticed something curious about Eros’ movements that night in the park. Eros was fast, flicking and darting this way and that, rarely stopping, not even to teleport; but as more and more footage streamed in, he started to realize it might be more. He’d always assumed that Eros could just teleport at anytime, anywhere, but that didn’t seem the case.

He never teleported immediately. Oh it seemed that way by how rapid his movements could be, but there was always a slight pause that he seemed to disguise by a flashy movement, a cheeky wink, or some other distraction. Which led to Viktor’s other discovery.

It had happened at an auction house. Eros had flitted between the various displays, taking what he wanted with playful abandon, but the two items he seemed most interested in were in cases right beside each other, and yet Eros didn’t simply go from one to the other. He made several jumps around the room before returning to the second case.

This was how Eros always moved, never in a straight line, but rather all over the place, almost as if he couldn’t make such a movement. Viktor could tell it wasn’t a case of Eros not having full control over his powers (because Eros could be as precise as he wanted to be when it suited him), but rather a limitation of Eros’ own power that he compensated for in his movements.

He found himself watching the footage with a stopwatch in hand, and returning to the various crime scenes, measuring out, as best he could, the distances between each of Eros’ ‘jumps’. So far he had a whole stack of numbers and he wasn’t sure if they actually meant anything.

The time between jumps and the distance was all over the place, but he did find a few potential clues. The shortest amount of time Eros had ever gone between teleports was three seconds, almost exactly. Three seconds wasn’t a lot of time, and the problem was he’d only seen him move that quickly twice, in all of the hundreds of teleports he had on tape. That wasn’t exactly a great sample size.

As for the location, he eventually ruled out any sort of randomness. He noticed that Eros’ eyes always seemed to move towards the location he was going, unless he was leaving. His only guess was that Eros needed to ‘see’ where he was going. His escape destination, wherever that may be, was probably someplace where Eros felt safe, and so, Viktor theorized, he didn’t need to physically see it to get there. Kind of like how you could navigate your apartment in the dark; at some point your body just learned the layout even if you couldn’t see your surroundings.

But were there limits? Again, he had only his data by which to make educated guesses. Maximum range wasn’t something he could even venture a guess to for right now, but minimum, that was a more curious question. The numbers were all over, but especially in some of the smaller spaces Eros worked in, he started to notice one number in particular popping up multiple times. Again, it was a statistically insignificant number, but where Eros was concerned, any pattern seemed like a lead worth following. The number itself seemed random as well, up until the point he flipped over his measuring tape by accident and slapped himself on the forehead. Six meters! It wasn’t random at all, but a nice, round, easy to measure number.

He thought about contacting Celestino about this new information, but he’d stopped himself. First, he had a feeling Celestino wouldn’t tell him anything about the nature of Powers, and secondly, he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to give Celestino more information about Eros. Eros had said the Super Hero could trace him by knowing him. Could giving Celestino more information about Eros lead the Heroes to him? He wasn’t sure he wanted to test that theory.

In fact, he didn’t tell anyone his ideas on Eros’ limitations, which was possibly a bad career move, but his boss seemed impressed enough by his other progress on the case, so there was no real need to tell her more. Was there?

Truthfully, most of the city seemed to regard Eros as nothing more than a playful little sprite. Some of the businesses he’d hit had even taken to hanging ‘Eros was here’ signs, which seemed to draw even more customers to them. The only people who really seemed to want Eros caught were the politicians and perhaps the insurance brokers.

Eros, for his part, didn’t shy away from any of it. He unlocked his Instagram account and sent the images to the local news, proudly boasting after each job he pulled off. He posted selfies in his suit, throwing peace signs, cheeky winks, and even blowing a few kisses. He even posted one from a rooftop overlooking one of his recent crimes with Viktor in the background.

_That’s the detective chasing me – isn’t he cute!_

Viktor had blushed furiously at the caption, and he didn’t even mind going on TV and confirming he was the lead investigator. He couldn’t help but be amused when most of the questions from the press sought to confirm he wasn’t going to hurt Eros if he caught him, was he?

Viktor had laughed and assured the public that he had no intention of harming Eros; he simply wished to capture him and put an end to his rather destructive spree.

Almost as if in response, Eros had posted a photo of his back, with the zipper of his suit pulled half down, his muscles coiled appealingly. His masked face had been turned, smiling teasingly over his shoulder. The internet had exploded as had Viktor’s brain; he was just glad he didn’t get a nosebleed. It was a shame he couldn’t like the photo, but he did make it a point to send Eros a DM with a heart eyes emoji. Eros had responded with a wink and Viktor ascended.

This had inspired the internet into a flurry of activity, and Viktor found his mentions filled within mere hours with fanarts and fanfics depicting him and Eros in a variety of situations, most of which seemed to end with a kiss...or in bed. He wished he could tell someone, anyone, that the former had already happened, and that he desperately longed for the latter.

The tipping point for Viktor, that had tipped him from resisting his newfound crush (however poorly), into fully diving in and accepting it for what it was came a week after their park date. He’d arrived home, on time for once, with a stack of paperwork to review on the case. He turned his key, sighing happily as he pushed open his door, only to be bowled over in a instant by a gorgeous, and highly excited, brown poodle.

“Who are you?” He asked, scratching behind her ears. It was then he noticed the note attached to her collar.

_This is Makkachin, she needed a home and you needed a reminder to take care of yourself._

Viktor couldn’t help but laugh, happily accepting Makka’s excited kisses. “Well, if you insist,” he whispered to no one in particular.

He’d brought Makkachin to work with him the next day, much to the confusion of his boss, but when the internet had seen her touring a crime scene with him, the public went crazy with love. The precinct was immediately filled with dog treats and toys, as well as many humans treats; everyone seemed to enjoy the overflowing public goodwill towards the department. Viktor even heard a rumor that they wanted to do an ad campaign with him and Makka, and all he could do was chuckle.

Eros’ plan seemed to be working too. For once, Viktor was eating regular meals because Makka’s hungry whines and big eyes could pull him from even the deepest of obsessive work modes. He figured if he was up, getting her some food, he might as well join her for his own meal. There was also her need for a good deal of physical activity which had him taking morning jogs everyday he could. He was shocked how fast this adorable girl wormed her way into his heart. She was already sleeping in his bed, and Viktor knew he would be lying to say he didn’t wish Eros was there too. He couldn’t help but feel oddly content.

He’d never really had anyone _care_ about whether he was eating right, at least not since he’d left home. In fact, Eros seemed to care about a great deal of his life. Little notes and reminders turned up all over his desk and apartment, a few even appeared in his police cruiser. He got the impression that Eros was watching him, unseen, blending in with the crowds so he could keep an eye on Viktor and make sure he was alright. It was a distinct possibility he knew; Supers kept their true identities secret for a reason. He wanted to say he’d recognize Eros anywhere, but he knew it wasn’t true. Makka might be able to see through Eros’ disguise, but she hadn’t shown any signs of seeing her savior from wherever Eros had found her.

It was on one of his several daily walks with Makka that he finally had an epiphany. He was thinking about Eros’ targets, the map clear in his mind, when his train of thought landed on one of Eros’ early prizes quite on its own. A pair of golden wedding bands engraved on the inside of the metal loop with a matching pair of snowflakes.

He couldn’t help but sigh dramatically, hoping, however stupidly, that maybe, just maybe, one of those rings was for him. He slapped his palm against his forehead, cursing his own stupidity. Eros was a criminal, and the rings were stolen! What was he thinking? Just because the rings were lovely, just because Eros would look lovely in gold, just because the snowflakes were...

Snowflakes...

The map flashed back into his mind as his mouth dropped open in shock. “Oh my god, Makka, that’s it! Hurry! We need to go back!” He took off running and Makka, thinking it was a game, happily trotted along with him.

Within minutes he’d taken over the conference room, a large map of the city, one far bigger than the one he’d been using to mark Eros' hits thus far, was spread over the table. His boss would kill him for it, but he stuck push pins directly into the table as he worked, painstakingly placing the pins in the exact locations where Eros had struct. With each pin he placed, he tied on a thread of red string, connecting the dots one by one, and slowly, surely, an image started to form.

“A snowflake,” he whispered in awe as he stood back to gaze down at the image. Makka poked her head up over the edge and looked on as he rubbed her ears affectionately. “I think I’ve got it, girl,” he whispered as he grabbed another bundle of string, this one blue, and got to work. This time pins were secondary; instead he followed the string patterns, pulling and twining the strings, only placing his pins after he’d measured and remeasured the string’s length and angle twice. He worked meticulously until, finally, he stepped back and looked down at a perfect snowflake - Intricate, complex, and beautiful.

“Nikiforov! What the hell are you doing to my table?!” Captain Mathura burst into the room glaring at the pin covered table and grew quiet as she took it all in. “What is this?”

“He’s almost done,” Viktor whispered. The snowflake was at least eighty percent red, and only a few blue lines remained.

“This is where he’s going?” The Captain asked, pointing to the first blue string.

Viktor nodded. “This is where he’ll be.”

“Well then we just lock these places down! Full S.W.A.T.!”

“No!” Viktor couldn’t believe himself, but he didn’t care. “That won’t work. He teleports. If you shoot him, point a gun at him, he teleports out and your guys shoot each other. There’s no way you can hide a group that big. He’ll know we’re there.”

“So, what do you suggest?”

“Just me,” Viktor whispered. “Eros respects me. He won’t harm me. I just have to outthink him, predict his movements, his targets. If I can do that I can get him off guard. That’s how we catch him.”

His Captain’s eyebrows were raised so high they were nearly touching her hairline. “Are you sure? Do you really think you can bring him in alone?”

Viktor steeled himself, unable to believe the thoughts racing through his own mind as his words spilled out. “I guarantee I’ll stop him, and, if I can’t, I’ll resign.”

The Captain balked. “You don’t have to go that far! You’ve already done more on this case than anyone could imagine! Figuring all this out,” she motioned to the table, “that’s well beyond what most Detectives could do.”

Viktor shook his head. “I’m asking a lot and I know it. We’re almost out of time and if we don’t catch him now, he’ll disappear and we’ll never catch him. It’s not like I’ve discovered his true identity or secret hideout.”

Captain Mathura sighed. “Still...where will you do it?”

Viktor studied the map, thinking hard. “What if the length of the lines was a factor of time? Maybe nothing exact, but look, most of the lines are relatively the same length, but a few are quite short, and a few are long. If standard is 24 hours, then shorter is less.”

“And longer is more.”

“Exactly. I don’t have the times all memorized but...”

“No, I think you’re right,” the Captain said. “So, where and when do you get him?”

Viktor studied the map, thinking through each location. “Here, the second to last stop. That’s a small apartment building.”

“Isn’t that worse?”

“It would be, but I remember there’s a show being held there. A display of glassworks, but the thing is, it’s on the roof, not inside. It’s a small area and Eros seems to move best in large areas. Plus, he can’t run from there if I can stop him from teleporting somehow. It’s also a hard place to S.W.A.T. and the security is low, and if our guess is right, he’ll be there at night. It’s an easy job. He’ll lower his guard.

“It’s a risk, though. If I show up he’ll know we’re onto him, and then there’s only one stop left. Only one chance to try your plan, and if it fails, that’s it. Game over. Some people would critique us for not going the moment we knew.”

“Maybe, but you’re right. Many of these next few are in crowded spots. There’s a chance for people to get hurt if we go for it then, but this one will be deserted that late at night. Still, how are you going to stop him from teleporting?”

Viktor sighed. “I’m not sure. I have to get him to hesitate. So far he hasn’t grabbed anything overly large so he must have to carry whatever he’s holding with him. Maybe if I grab on, he won’t be able to drag me with him. Even better if I can cuff us both to something solid. Then, you bring a small group, and we attach a few bodies to him and walk him to jail.”

The Captain nodded. “From then on it’s up to them to keep him locked up.” Viktor nodded, and she patted his shoulder. “Good work, Viktor.”

“Thank you, ma’am” Viktor mumbled as his stared at the map until he heard the door click closed. He slumped into a chair, head burying in his hands. “What am I going to do Makka? I do this and he goes to jail. I...I don’t want that, fuck.” Makka whined sympathetically and Viktor realized he was crying as a soft sob tore from his chest. “It wasn’t supposed to happen this way,” he muttered miserably, knowing, based on his Snowflake timeline, that he had just days to figure his emotions out. “I think I’m falling in love with him.”

It was insane, but he couldn’t deny it. Eros consumed his thoughts on every level. But it wasn’t just Eros, it was _him_. “I want to know him, Makka, the real him. I want to _actually_ date him. Laugh with him, take you on walks in the park together, share meals. I want to see his hair when it’s not slicked back, see his eyes when he first wakes up. I want to know his name, his favorite food, and his family, if he has one...

“But instead I’m going to arrest him. I’m going to throw him in prison for who knows how long. How can I do it?”

Makka had no answers, only soft pants and a few licks as Viktor gently scratched her head. He stayed that way for a long while. He didn’t know if he could do it. It would end his career if he let Eros go, at least here, in Detroit. The people wouldn’t mind but his superiors would be furious. He needed an exit strategy, needed a choice, both for him, and for Eros.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out, checking it to find a new Instagram post from Eros. It was a photo of the two rings, the ones with the snowflakes.

_People keep sending me Eros/Detective Nikiforov fanfics; should I give him one of these?_

The comments and likes were flying as people screamed their approval, and Viktor’s heart pounded. Could Eros know what he was feeling? Could he possibly feel the same? Eros was a tease and a flirt, but Viktor knew he wanted it to be true. He wanted to wear Eros’ ring.

A small smile slowly stretched across his lips; the same lips that had kissed Eros’ own just a few weeks earlier (which was far too long ago for his liking). He pressed a finger to them, letting his mind drift, a plan slowly forming in his head. It wasn’t a good plan, not really, but it was the best he had.

Mind settling, he let out a long sigh and dialed his phone, not sure if he was ensuring a future with Eros, or without him. He pinched the bridge of his nose as the call connected and he tried to keep his voice steady.

“Is Captain Feltsman there?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter up sometime tomorrow! See you then for the final showdown!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion!

The final days remaining before the end of Eros’ spree (based on Viktor’s theory) seemed to fly by, and with each correct prediction his Captain grew more and more confident with Viktor’s plan, heralding him as a genius into the minds of Supers. He wanted to correct her, but he just didn’t have the energy. He still investigated the scenes, making it look good for the press and for Eros, but his heart wasn’t in it. Each clue only brought him closer to the end, and his heart was no more settled than it had ever been. Two months of their back and forth battles had left him longing for more, and as much as he didn’t want to lose Eros, he supposed he was ready for it to end.

Now he stood in the center of the rooftop garden, staring at the glass sculpture at the middle of the exhibit. It was a heart of ice being cracked open, with what Viktor could only imagine was love spilling out. It felt oddly symbolic.

There was soft light filling the space, filtered from the city around them making it all feel very romantic. He clenched his jaw, keeping his fists curled tight within the sleeves of his trench coat. He knew his Captain was several blocks away, units cleverly hidden in underground garages where they wouldn’t be accidentally spotted. They’d placed a sensor on the handcuffs around his wrist that would call them to the scene as soon as they were snapped shut. Simple, effective, and final. Even if Viktor didn’t want it to be.

There was the faintest rustle and without even looking, Viktor thrust out his hand in one smooth motion, attaching the handcuff around Eros’ just arrived arm, snapping it into place. The timer had begun.

“Why Detective, that’s rather forward of you.”

Viktor couldn’t look at him. He wanted to, but he couldn’t, afraid to see the betrayal in his eyes. “You said if I caught you, you were mine,” he whispered.

Eros sighed and Viktor felt soft fingers press his chin up until he was gazing into Eros eyes. He was smiling. “And I am.”

Viktor’s breath left him with a rush and Eros moved them to a bench, sitting them on it, still connected by the handcuffs between them. Viktor hoped it was enough to keep Eros at his side; he also hoped it didn’t.

Eros for his part seemed utterly unconcerned with their current situation.

“Run away with me,” Viktor said breathlessly. “My Captain is on the way. I’ve already left my letter of resignation on her desk. If we run now, we can disappear. But if we stay...if we linger, they’ll come here, they’ll take you.”

“I know,” Eros said softly.

“You do?”

Eros giggled and slid off the side of the bench, kneeling in from of Viktor, holding his hand where they were chained together. “Viktor, I put a bug in Makka’s collar when I left her with you.”

Viktor blushed furiously. He’d said a lot of things to Makka....a lot of very incriminating things.

“For the record,” Eros said with his own pale blush, “I feel the same, about everything. Everything you said I agree with. I want those things too.”

Viktor’s heart pounded. “You do?”

Eros nodded with a hum. “But I also want us to have a life, and we can’t do that if we run. If we run we’ll always be running, and that’s no way to live a life.”

“We’d be together.”

Eros smiled, reaching into a hidden pocket in his suit and pulling out a golden ring. “We still can be.”

Viktor felt a sob pull from his chest as Eros slipped the ring on his finger. “It won’t be the same.”

“Shh, don’t worry. I told you, you’re the only one I’ll let catch me.”

“They’ll chain you up.”

Eros smiled, pulling the second ring from his pocket, offering it to Viktor who greedily snatched it up and slid it on Eros’ finger, a promise he didn’t know either of them could keep. “I find I don’t mind being chained,” Eros whispered, looking at their entwined hands before pulling Viktor close and pressing their lips together.

Viktor couldn’t help but cry harder, tears running down his cheeks as he tried to show Eros his feelings with everything he had in that moment. To let one kiss speak for him for however long it took. “I love you,” he whispered. He hadn’t known it before, not until that moment, but it was true. Devastating in its irony, but true.

“I know,” Eros said, “and I love you too. Have for a while now, ever since the aquamarine. I was there, at the bank that day, watching you. You didn’t see me, wouldn’t have, but you saw through that bank manager immediately, and it made me curious about you. The more I learned, the more I liked. The more I loved.”

Viktor could hear the sounds of boots hitting the fire escape and knew he didn’t have much time. Eros smiled and ran his hands over Viktor’s cheeks, cleaning away his tears.

“I’m going to New York,” Viktor whispered.

“I heard,” Eros said. “New York is nice. I used to have friends there.”

“The man who inspired me to be a cop is there. He’s offered me a job.”

Eros smiled, standing slowly pulling Viktor with him as he slowly moved his hands behind his back. “Take good care of Makka, and yourself while I’m away. Remember, you caught me. I’m yours now.”

Viktor nodded, kissing him hard one last time as the boots grew louder, before he pulled away and secured the second set of handcuffs around Eros wrists, keeping his hands together. “You’re mine, and I’m yours,” he whispered as bodies started appearing at the edge of the roof. “Forever.”

As the rooftop descended into a sort of organize chaos, with lights flashing on and more cuffs being secured to Eros’ wrists, securing him to more bodies, and shoving them all back down the stairs where reporters and crowds had already gathered, Viktor couldn’t help but whisper, “Stay close to me.”

They loaded Eros into the armored truck, chaining him to the walls, and Viktor saw him mouth back, “ _Always._ ”

 

* * *

 

 “It looks like you’ve been upgraded to First Class, Detective.”

Viktor blinked up at the gate agent. “Oh. Well that’s nice.” Unexpected, but nice. He wasn’t going to argue.

She smiled at him, wishing him a happy flight, but truthfully he wasn’t listening. The live press conference he was streaming had started and all of Viktor’s attention was focused on it. Even as he handed the next agent his ticket for boarding, made his way down the gangway, and sat in his spacious seat.

It’d been two weeks since Eros was captured, and Viktor was sure they’d only waited this long to celebrate it in hopes to confirm that they could actually hold him. It wouldn’t look very good to claim you captured someone only to have them slip away the next day.

Viktor had spent the time cleaning out his desk and wrapping up the last of his paperwork on the case. His Captain had begged him to stay the moment she saw his letter, but Viktor’s mind was made up. No matter what happened, he couldn’t stay in Detroit. Too many memories, too many temptations. It wasn’t like a criminal’s arresting officer could pay his prisoner a friendly visit. He didn’t know how he would emotionally handle the trial when it rolled around.

On the livestream, the Mayor was stepping up on the podium, congratulating himself on the successful capture of Eros, thanking the police for their tireless work, and promising a return to peaceful times. Viktor scoffed as he watched, happy he’d refused to attend the ceremony. It wasn’t a long flight to New York, but it did make for an excellent excuse to skip the dog and pony show. He didn’t work for them anymore, after all.

His mind drifted, hoping Makka was okay in the cargo hold below. He’d wanted to bring her on board with him, but the airline wouldn’t bend its rules, not even for a ‘hero’ cop and his famous dog. The upgrade _was_ nice though. He focused back onto the stream, ready to turn the whole thing off, sick to death of the grandstanding.

Suddenly, without any warning, the Mayor’s hair just...disappeared. The crowd gasped and the Mayor looked around for a long moment before he realized what had happened, searching frantically for his now missing toupee.

There was a whistle and the Mayor, along with everyone else looked up towards the ceiling and there, sitting in the rafters, was Eros.

Viktor’s heart leapt as Eros waved, giving a cheeky grin as several officers, including Captain Mathura went into action, pointing their guns up at him, ordering him down. Eros merely laughed, smiling down at them all as he dropped the toupee and blinked away.

Pandemonium ensued, and the live feed was cut, going back to the news room where a shocked looking anchor tried to make sense of what she saw, pressing a hand to her ear.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are getting confirmation now from Detroit State Prison that Eros has in fact escaped.” The footage changed to a live view inside the cell where several large, heavy chains, with equally large cuffs lay dangling from the walls they’d been attached to. Viktor shuddered as he took in their weight.

“Officials are confirming the Eros is on the loose. He is considered dangerous and the public is reminded not to approach him, and to call the Detroit PD for assistance if spotted…”

There was a shuffle at Viktor’s side as a passenger all but flung themselves into the into the seat beside him with a huff, stashing their backpack under the seat in front of them. The flight attendants were closing the doors, preparing them for takeoff. Viktor pressed his earbuds further into his ears as he stared in shock at the replay of the event. In slow motion you could just make out Eros’ whip flashing down and snagging the Mayor’s toupee.

“Woo, glad I didn’t miss my flight, not with someone like him running around again. Good time to be getting out of Detroit, don’t you think?”

Viktor halted, eyes going wide, whole body stiff as he spun around facing his seatmate who was just placing a pair of blue rimmed glasses on his nose; an amused grin splashed across his face as an all too familiar voice spoke again. “You would not believe the traffic out there; I nearly didn’t make it here in time.”

Viktor felt a whine start to burst from his lips as he tried to form some sort of words. “Er-“

A finger pressed to his lips as the man smiled at him. “I’m Yuuri Katsuki.” He lowered his hand and held it out for a handshake, ring gleaming in the light filtering through the window.

“Hi-i Yuuri.” Viktor felt his tongue curl delightfully around the name. “I’m Viktor Nikiforov.”

“Nice to meet you,” Eros whose name was Yuuri said, shaking his hand and holding on with a soft and gentle grip.  “So what takes you to New York, Viktor?”

Viktor swallowed. “I’m moving in...with my boyfriend?”

“Oh really? What a coincidence, so am I! Mine has the cutest dog!”

Viktor couldn’t help the way his heart soared, and he risked the ruse, pulling Yuuri in close for a quick hug, sobbing silently into his neck.

“Now now, why the tears?” Yuuri whispered. “You make it look far too pretty and it's my turn to be the cry baby for once. I did just get out of prison you know? The food was awful! The things I do for you.”

Viktor couldn’t help but laugh as he leaned back, staring fervently at Yuuri’s unobstructed face. “But won’t they catch you? They’ve seen your face haven’t they?”

Yuuri giggled and Viktor was sure it was the most gorgeous sound he’d ever heard. “Oh no. My suit is a part of my Power; there’s no way to take it off unless I disengage it, for lack of a better word.”

“But the Instagram photo?” Viktor questioned, thinking back to Eros unzipping his costume, and the back he very much wanted to get his hands on.

“Oh that?” Yuuri said, cheeks suddenly inflaming. “Uh, well, I sort of had a replica made?”

Viktor tilted his head. “You had a replica of your suit made...just for that photo?”

Blushing, Yuuri nodded. “Did it work?”

Viktor really couldn’t be held accountable for the way the blood rushed straight to his groin. The plane was just starting to take off and the sense of weightlessness took over his whole body as he stared into the eyes of the man he loved. Of the man he would never have to let go of.

“Yeah,” he whispered. “It worked.”

Yuuri smiled, his whole face lighting up. “Then my greatest heist is complete.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading everyone! This AU is a lot of fun for me and I hope you all had fun too. These boys are so extra. ;)
> 
> Will there be more to this series? 90%-Yes. I'm working on it. It's just a lot of fun. Never really saw myself doing a 'super' series, but it's an unexpected blast. 
> 
> Comments, Kudos and Shares are life, and thanks again for joining me on this silly little heist! :)

**Author's Note:**

> You asked for it, and here it is! This fic is complete and will be updating daily until all of the chapters are done. A huge thanks to my betas - [AlexWSpark](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexWSpark/pseuds/AlexWSpark) and [zupsgirl1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fraulein_Zupan/pseuds/Zupsgirl1)! Both are wonderful humans and have fics updating right now that you should definitely check out! This whole AU has come out of nowhere for me and I'm so thankful these two agreed to help me get it just right.
> 
> Quick note to those that follow my social media: tumblr is just not working for me at all lately and it's incredibly hard for me to post anything on that platform right now (I have no idea why). Also, messages are only sometimes getting to me! D: If you'd like to chat about my fics or ask a question there, please feel free, but forgive me if it gets eaten by tumblr. I'll probably be handling my updates on twitter more just because it is actually functioning for me. Comments on AO3 are probably the easiest way to chat with me cause they come straight to my inbox! I'm also on discord if that's more your style.
> 
> Hope you enjoy - comments, kudos, shares, etc. are always appreciated! See you tomorrow! 


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